Underage drinking. Yay or nay?

Title is pretty self-explanatory. Would a story with underage drinking get a reject here on Lit? Probably a stupid question, but a question none-the-less. Forgive me, I tried searching for this topic, but all I found were debates of underage sex.

Thanks

I think it would, but I’ve no knowledge of the rules to back that up.

I'm not aware of any rule against it, written or unwritten. I've seen stories with heroin use so I'd be very surprised if alcohol was an issue.

Some readers do get surprisingly agitated about drug use and may vote down stories for it, but I doubt that applies with alcohol.

MarkoAaron said:

Would a story with underage drinking get a reject here on Lit?

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Just keep the kids out of it. Period. There is no reason to even mention them here.

jaF0 said:

Just keep the kids out of it. Period. There is no reason to even mention them here.

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I feel like we go over this every few months: there are plenty of valid reasons why somebody might mention children in a story here, and there is no rule against it - as long as you don't get stuck into describing under-age sex.

Yes, we do. And no, I don't think there are.

All kinds of story sites out there to post family non erotica. No reason for kids here. At all. Ever.

The legal drinking age in US is 21. All characters engaging in sexual activity in Lit stories must be 18+. Most attending college in US are under 21 yet many still drink. If you have 18-20 year olds drinking in your story it won't prevent your story from being published at Lit.

rutger5 said:

The legal drinking age in US is 21. All characters engaging in sexual activity in Lit stories must be 18+. Most attending college in US are under 21 yet many still drink. If you have 18-20 year olds drinking in your story it won't prevent your story from being published at Lit.

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I was going to ask you to "define under aged drinking"... lol Since 18 through 20 is a legal adult, but not legal to drink, I don't see Lit axing that type of story.

jaF0 said:

Just keep the kids out of it. Period. There is no reason to even mention them here.

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I failed to mention in my first post, the ages would be over 18, under 21.

MarkoAaron said:

I failed to mention in my first post, the ages would be over 18, under 21.

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Then it may not be underage:

https://drinkingage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002591

jaF0 said:

Yes, we do. And no, I don't think there are.

All kinds of story sites out there to post family non erotica. No reason for kids here. At all. Ever.

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...unless you want to flesh out your characters by acknowledging that they have lives outside the bedroom. Which many authors do.

Some of the reasons I've mentioned kids in my stories:

- two adults build up a friendship by discussing the challenges of parenting
- establish a character's personality by showing how she handles the six-year-olds she teaches
- explain why one character gets very protective of her lesbian co-worker (she has a fourteen-year-old daughter who's being bullied at school for being queer)
- explain why another character moved from Greece to Australia (she got pregnant at sixteen, and the family packed her off overseas to deal with the scandal)
- describing a character who was abandoned by her mother as a child, and how her lover helps her deal with the resulting emotional damage

My current work in progress is about two people who meet when one of them is a teenager (and the other is her tutor) but who don't become lovers until many years after. The backstory is important to how they relate now, as the narrator has to shift from the mindset of "responsible adult protecting a minor" to "we are both adults and she can make her own decisions".

(And now I think of it, that backstory does involve under-age drinking, so I guess I'll find out for myself whether that's allowed. But I'm not expecting any difficulty on that account.)

If you don't want to write or read about that sort of character development, that's fine! But there's no earthly reason why other writers need to shy away from acknowledging that children exist and are often important to the lives of adults.

jaF0 said:

Yes, we do. And no, I don't think there are.

All kinds of story sites out there to post family non erotica. No reason for kids here. At all. Ever.

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Your opinion is your own, but it shouldn’t pollute the OP’s question. As an aside, I’ll echo what Bramblethorn said and I’ll also double down on the 18/21 dichotomy. Banning underage drinking would set the de facto “floor” of character age at 21 for every story involving booze, which I gather is how you’d like it. But, again, that’s your opinion. And it’s arbitrary and unrealistic.

OP: underage drinking is totally kosher here, based on what I’ve had approved.

I think odd references to getting blathered at 18 or at a party might work, but no to any details.
Frankly, I get the impression that ANYTHING to do with the under-age crowd is a big No-No !

The UK law is awkward. You have to be 18 to buy for yourself.

It is not illegal:

For someone over 18 to buy a child over 16 beer, wine or cider if they are eating a table meal together in licensed premises.
For a child aged five to 16 to drink alcohol at home or on other private premises.

In my first story, the narrator buys beer for two 19 year old girls. That story was accepted and published on the first attempt without comment. There was nothing that explicitly said the characters were American, but it was written with American (rather than Canadian or British) English conventions.

There's no rule about underage ( provided they're at least 18 ) drinking, pot smoking, shooting H, or anything else.

I've posted stories with characters doing all of the above. The drinking and pot-smoking were critical plot elements present within the first few paragraphs, and the pot story was called "Pot Head".

They didn't just "slip through". LOL There was no missing those elements of the story in even the quickest, most half-asleep speed read for approval. The pot one was also posted today, so that should cover it being current standards, as they do morph a little over time.

And there's nothing preventing you from ( or wrong with ) having younger characters in your story, so long as they're part of the story, and not the sex. ( Or even in the same galactic coordinate as it )

The rule is, nobody who appears to be a human under age 18 may be depicted in a sexual situation, including the thoughts of others. Nobody gets to drool lustily over minors on LIT. Underage sex can be reported but not described. If under-18 drinking or drugs don't lead to sexual situations then the rule is not broken. We may (and do) write of many crimes here. But don't break LIT rules.

I'd just like to point out that I never had the intention of writing a story with persons under 18 years of age. My question was only about underage drinking, (18 not 21). Underage sex, that's Lit rules 101 lol

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

MarkoAaron said:

Would a story with underage drinking get a reject here on Lit?

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There has been underage drinking in virtually every one of my stories, along with pot use, and it has never been an issue.

After all, the legal age of consent for sex in the stories is 18 and the legal age for drinking, in most US jurisdictions is 21.